It looks like Roccat Studios' marketing department has sought to bring up the topic of the future of PC gaming, something Razer did, before going on to launch a $2,800 gaming laptop. Alienware asked the same question, but in contrast to Razer, went on to launch a much more sensible product that actually seeks to do something about the ailing PC gaming industry (a nice, cheap gaming PC that woos the console crowd). Roccat is known neither for fancy overpriced laptops, or desktops, but is a sizable player in the gaming peripherals industry.

Roccat's latest marketing campaign revolves around the question "Isn't PC gaming dead?", a cleverly worded question that asks why PC gaming isn't dead already, instead of a more inquisitive "Is PC gaming dead?", or an exclamatory "PC gaming isn't dead!". Roccat is seeking answers to this burning question on a specially set-up microsite. Roccat's campaign isn't just market research, but also leading up to something, a product launch, perhaps. The question site goes on to state "soon we'll tell you what we think is the smartest way forward." By 'soon', they mean about 13 days from now. The shoutbox in the microsite is nested in a frame shaped like an iPhone. Could this mean something? A gamepad-dock for iPhone that enhances gaming? Time will tell if Roccat does a Razer or an Alienware.

I like there choice of words - Isn't PC Gaming Dead? This only backs the FACT PC gaming is not only getting stronger, but should over take gaming consoles by 2014. This is one reason why we hear talk about new consoles coming out by that time.

In other words, Isn't PC Gaming Dead "ALREADY"? Not in a million years, it's quite alive and kicking.

I like there choice of words - Isn't PC Gaming Dead? This only backs the FACT PC gaming is not only getting stronger, but should over take gaming consoles by 2014. This is one reason why we hear talk about new consoles coming out by that time.

In other words, Isn't PC Gaming Dead "ALREADY"? Not in a million years, it's quite alive and kicking.

and while the idea of a PC (alienware's) that woos the console crowd is nice, a PC that has such specs loses out on alot of what makes a PC better at gaming than a console IMO.

Your plain vanilla xbox 360 is $299. A PC that costs in that range will play games like crap. It will be hard to compete because consoles are essentially really cheap gaming PCs that do not have the overhead of windows and have specialized coding tailored to perform on the hardware.

Of course games would play "like crap" if you try a $300 PC to play at high resolutions, DX11, high graphics settings, etc. If you lower the resolution and the graphics settings (to 1280x720 for example), and stick with DX9, you'll be getting better performance than the consoles.

Of course games would play "like crap" if you try a $300 PC to play at high resolutions, DX11, high graphics settings, etc. If you lower the resolution and the graphics settings (to 1280x720 for example(, and stick with DX9, you'll be getting better performance than the consoles.

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That being said, I could build a PC faster than the 360 for $300. Don't quote me on this for sure, but I read that the next Xbox will have a 6670, low-end performance in gaming standards, and a really cheap GPU.

'PC gaming is dead' is an phrase so old it was being asked before I was old enough to game on a PC.

It is something that has waxed and waned since I started pc gaming in 1999. For a few years pc games seemed to dwindle, but right now with Steam/Gamefly/D2D/Amazon and so on, not to mention Nvidia, AMD, Razer, Saitek................. I don't need to continue. You get the idea!

I think we will see pc gaming take a big surge in the next few years. The reason why is people are wanting all in one solutions with less wires. APU's are sufficient for many people. While this generation of g-card is not much of a performance move it is a lower power consuming item, meaning you need less psu and less cooling. A cheap g-card at this point is good enough for many. People can easily download games from home. For consoles to stay competitive they are becoming more like pc's. It is only a matter of time before people realize they don't need the console anymore!

Of course games would play "like crap" if you try a $300 PC to play at high resolutions, DX11, high graphics settings, etc. If you lower the resolution and the graphics settings (to 1280x720 for example(, and stick with DX9, you'll be getting better performance than the consoles.

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Not to mention people buying a new computer could simply pay for a $299 upgrade and not have the console in the way.

If they're serious (kind of thinking they're not), then obviously they haven't done their research; which I kind of doubt. But if they haven't here's a chart with projected sales figures of games; console vs pc.

All trends are showing that PC gaming is very much so on the rise and will soon surpass consoles in popularity. I suppose we can thank Steam for revitalizing the PC gaming market. I believe that they have made PC gaming a lot more accessible to a lot more people and even the Indie developer. Hat's off to you steam.

At any rate, I think it's just an advertising ploy to get people talking about them and get their name out to more people.

If they're serious (kind of thinking they're not), then obviously they haven't done their research; which I kind of doubt. But if they haven't here's a chart with projected sales figures of games; console vs pc.

http://media.bestofmicro.com/,3-J-308575-3.jpg
All trends are showing that PC gaming is very much so on the rise and will soon surpass consoles in popularity. I suppose we can thank Steam for revitalizing the PC gaming market. I believe that they have made PC gaming a lot more accessible to a lot more people and even the Indie developer. Hat's off to you steam.

At any rate, I think it's just an advertising ploy to get people talking about them and get their name out to more people.

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Idk about that charts accuracy

I had someone offer me 200$ for my 160gb slim and controller, and that has been more then 1 offer in the past week, and I am not even selling it

The console market basically consumes 50% of all kids in age groups 6-16. That's not counting the estimation of people across all ages that are still buying and using consoles.

When the new gen consoles come out, that graph is going to be smashed to bits

IMHO The cost and troubles(hardware/software) that are needed to get a localized experience of PC gaming that can run as good or better then xbox 360 in terms of graphics quality and resolution(500-720p) are what make it impossible to get enough popularity and competition between markets compared to the simple solution of getting a all-in-one gaming platform for under 300$.

The mass of publisher hate towards PC gaming is not helping anyways. Their is just a humongous market when it comes to consoles and game sales for consoles. The figures even represented on the internet could not possibly be right. Their is a massive underground and legal market when it comes to consoles and games. Just huge.

PC gaming might be growing in popularity and market, but even then it's got a long ways to go, and that's understatement.

Everybody I have seen with an Ipod has a game console in their house they touch or use, at least that I know of.
Half the people I know with Ipods don't even have computers, and use their consoles or friends laptops to load new music.
That's why my opinion is slightly shifted because of this reason alone.